Chicago White Sox
Management: GM – Kenny Williams, Manager – Ozzie Guillen
Key Additions: Alejandro De Aza, Freddy Dolsi, Andruw Jones, Juan Pierre, J.J. Putz, Mark Teahen, Omar Vizquel, Daniel Cabrera
Key Losses: D.J. Carrasco, Octavio Dotel, Jermaine Dye, Josh D. Fields, Chris Getz, Jimmy Gobble, Scott Podsednik, Dewayne Wise
Projected Starters
C AJ Pierzynski
1B Paul Konerko
2B Gordon Beckham
3B Mark Teahen
SS Alexi Ramirez
RF Carlos Quentin
CF Alex Rios
LF Juan Pierre
DH Mark Kotsay
SP Jake Peavy
SP Mark Buehrle
SP John Danks
SP Gavin Floyd
SP Freddy Garcia
CL Bobby Jenks
Preview: This team struggled a lot last season and return a lineup that looks pretty similar. They’ve got steady producers in Konerko and Pierzynski. They’ve got Gordon Beckham as a talented young upandcomer. Alexei Ramirez has a lot of talent if he can turn his career around. In the outfield they’ve got a few injury question marks with Alex Rios and Carlos Quentin, both have had fantastic years but have been plagued by inconsistency in the last few years. In the other OF spot they’ve got Juan Pierre who is the exact opposite of what the White Sox have been in the past. With all those question marks around the offense, I think they’ll stuggle to score runs on a consistent basis, which will be a pain for the organization because they struggled to score runs consistently when they had all the big boppers in the line-up. On the mound the White Sox can lay claim to one of the best starting pitchers in the division with Jake Peavy. Some question his endurance and dependablity, but when he is on he is one of the best pitchers in baseball and the change in leagues won’t affect him as much as it might affect some other pitchers. The bullpen should be solid if Jenks can turn it around from last year, JJ Putz should add a dependable 8th inning guy and they’ve got some gas throwers leading up the end guys. Overall I think they’ve taken a sidestep from last year, I don’t see them being dramatically better, but they shouldn’t be terrible. Just another long summer of chasing the Twins and Tigers and never catching up.
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